Lagatar24 Desk
Bihar, Dec15: In the wake of the hooch tragedy in Saran district where at least 39 people have lost their lives and several are still hospitalized, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday said, “Jo sharab peeyega, wo toh marega hi na… Udaharan saamne hai — peeyoge toh maroge”.
A total of 39 people have lost their lives due to the consumption of spurious alcohol in Bihar’s Chhapra district and more deaths are feared. The sale and consumption of alcohol were completely banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April 2016.
Recalling past instances of liquor deaths, Nitish Kumar said, “Last time, when people died due to spurious liquor, someone said they should be compensated. If someone consumes liquor, they’ll die – an example is before us. This should be condoled, those places should be visited and people should be explained,”.
A day earlier, Nitish Kumar fumed in the assembly as BJP MLAs tried to target him over the Chhapra hooch tragedy. Bihar BJP leaders, including Minister Giriraj Singh, on Wednesday, asked Nitish Kumar to review the state’s ban policy, arguing that it has failed because the illegal sale of fake alcohol has led to an increase in crimes related to it and frequent deaths.